Information processing apparatus and information processing method

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus includes a processor configured to: obtain schedule information of plural users; identify, from the obtained schedule information of the plural users, expected occurrences of a trigger event that will cause a particular task that needs to be executed by a designated user; and set a priority order among the plural users based on time information of the expected occurrences of the trigger event.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2020-101169 filed Jun. 10, 2020.

BACKGROUND (i) Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus.

(ii) Related Art

A user often executes an information processing task on behalf ofanother user. For example, a task of registering information concerninga certain user in a database is executed by another user.

Japanese Patent No. 6603428 discloses the following technology.Requester data indicating one of a subject user claiming expensesindicated by expenses data and an alternate (designated) subject userand approver data indicating one of an approver making a decision aboutwhether to approve the expenses and an alternate approver are obtained.Based on the requester data and the approver data, if it is judged thatexpenses claimed by the subject user or the alternate subject user areapproved by the same user having claimed the expenses, a warning isissued to inform the user that the expenses are to be approved by theuser himself/herself. If the user has still given an approval to theexpenses, information that the expenses have been approved by the sameuser having claimed the expenses is stored in association with theexpenses data.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-238036discloses the following system. An authorization server distributes avalid alternate user permission ticket to an alternate use terminal.When an application is submitted, together with the valid alternate userpermission ticket, from the alternate use terminal, the authorizationserver requests a processing server to perform a procedure for theapplication. After the processing server has completed the procedure forthe application, the authorization server makes the alternate userpermission ticket invalid.

SUMMARY

When a designated user takes charge of tasks on behalf of multiplesubject users, the execution order of the tasks may influence the workefficiency. It is assumed that a designated user registers informationin a database on behalf of multiple subject users. If it is expectedthat information concerning a certain subject user to be registered willbe generated soon, the designated user can postpone conducting thecurrent task of registering information concerning this subject useruntil information to be registered is generated. Then, the designateduser can register multiple items of information together. The workefficiency is thus improved. If it is expected that informationconcerning another subject user to be registered will not be generatedfor a while, the designated user can conduct the current task of thissubject user first. As a result, the work efficiency of the overall workof the designated user can be enhanced.

Aspects of non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure relate toassisting in determining the execution order of multiple tasks to beefficiently executed by a designated user on behalf of multiple subjectusers.

Aspects of certain non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosureaddress the above advantages and/or other advantages not describedabove. However, aspects of the non-limiting embodiments are not requiredto address the advantages described above, and aspects of thenon-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure may not addressadvantages described above.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus including a processor configured to:obtain schedule information of plural users; identify, from the obtainedschedule information of the plural users, expected occurrences of atrigger event that will cause a particular task that needs to beexecuted by a designated user; and set a priority order among the pluralusers based on time information of the expected occurrences of thetrigger event.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates the overall configuration of a task decision assistsystem according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functionalconfiguration of a priority order decision server;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functionalconfiguration of a user management server;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardwareconfiguration of a computer implementing each of the priority orderdecision server and the user management server;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configurationof the user terminal;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation executedby the priority order decision server;

FIG. 7 illustrates a display example of a display screen displayed onthe user terminal; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a display example when the subject period is selectedon the display screen shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An exemplary embodiment of the disclosure will be described below indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Overall Configuration)

FIG. 1 illustrates the overall configuration of a task decision assistsystem 10 according to the exemplary embodiment. The task decisionassist system 10 includes a priority order decision server 100, a usermanagement server 200, and a user terminal 300. The task decision assistsystem 10 assists a user who executes tasks on behalf of other users indetermining which user's task will be conducted first. A user takingcharge of other user's tasks will be called a designated user. A userdelegating a task to a designated user will be called a subject user. Atask of a subject user will simply be called a task. In the example inFIG. 1, a designated user conducts tasks so that subject users canreceive a service provided by an external service provider 400. Thepriority order decision server 100, the user management server 200, andthe user terminal 300 are connected with each other via a network.Basically, the external service provider 400 is provided separately fromthe task decision assist system 10. Depending on a service to beprovided, however, the external service provider 400 may be connectedwith the user terminal 300 via a network.

The priority order decision server 100 is a server that determines thepriority order of tasks to be executed by a designated user. Thepriority order determined by the priority order decision server 100serves as an index to determining the execution order of tasks by thedesignated user. The execution order of tasks is determined by thedesignated user in the end. When determining the execution order,however, the designated user may take the priority order determined bythe priority order decision server 100 into consideration. Determiningthe priority order of tasks by the priority order decision server 100will be discussed later.

The user management server 200 is a server that manages informationconcerning each subject user. The information concerning a subject usermanaged by the user management server 200 includes information about thesubject user (hereinafter called subject user information) andinformation about the schedule of a job, for example, of the subjectuser (hereinafter called schedule information). The schedule informationabout a subject user is not limited to information related to a task tobe undertaken by the designated user.

Each of the priority order decision server 100 and the user managementserver 200 may be implemented by a single server machine. Alternatively,the functions of each of the priority order decision server 100 and theuser management server 200 may be distributed over multiple servers. Thepriority order decision server 100 and the user management server 200may alternatively be virtual servers using network resources.

The user terminal 300 is a terminal device used by the designated userto conduct a task. The user terminal 300 is implemented by aninformation processing apparatus, such as a personal computer (PC) or atablet information terminal.

The network may be formed in any configuration if it can be used forperforming data exchange between the priority order decision server 100,the user management server 200, and the user terminal 300. Examples ofthe network are a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN),and the Internet. Plural networks connected with each other via agateway device, such as a router, may be used. For the network, eitherone of a wired communication medium and a wireless communication mediummay be used.

(Functional Configuration of Priority Order Decision Server)

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functionalconfiguration of the priority order decision server 100. The priorityorder decision server 100 includes functions such as a user informationobtainer 110, a schedule information obtainer 120, an analyzer 130, apriority order setter 140, a display controller 150, and a notifier 160.

The user information obtainer 110 is a function of obtaining subjectuser information from the user management server 200. Subject userinformation obtained by the user information obtainer 110 is not limitedto a specific type or a specific configuration as long as an individualsubject user can be identified from the subject user information.Subject user information may include identification information foridentifying an individual subject user, information indicating the nameof the subject user, and information indicating the job title of thesubject user.

The schedule information obtainer 120 is a function of obtainingschedule information concerning a subject user from the user managementserver 200. The schedule of a subject user is that to be managed by theuser management server 200. For example, if, in the task decision assistsystem 10, a certain task of a job of a subject user is executed by adesignated user, the schedule of this job of the subject user is that tobe managed by the management server 200. As stated above, scheduleinformation of a subject user may also include information other thanthat about a task to be executed by a designated user.

The analyzer 130 is a function of analyzing the schedule informationobtained by the schedule information obtainer 120 for each subject userand extracting the time of the occurrence of an event which makes itnecessary for a designated user to execute a task. “An event which makesit necessary for a designated user to execute a task” means that, as aresult of the occurrence of this event, it becomes necessary for thedesignated user to execute the task. For example, it is now assumedthat, when a subject user is out of the office on a business trip, forexample, receipts for the payment made during this business trip aregenerated, and registering of such receipts in a database by adesignated user is set as a task to be executed by the designated user.In this case, as a result of the occurrence of the event, that is, thesubject user going out of the office, it becomes necessary for thedesignated user to execute the task, that is, registering receipts in adatabase. In other words, a task of registering receipts is executed asa result of the subject user going out of the office. The event whichtriggers the execution of a task in this manner will be called a triggerevent. The analyzer 130 extracts the time of the occurrence of a triggerevent, that is, the scheduled time when a subject user goes out of theoffice, from the schedule information concerning this subject user.

The priority order setter 140 is a function of setting the priorityorder of tasks to be executed as a result of the occurrence of a triggerevent, in accordance with the conditions based on the time of theoccurrence of the trigger event extracted by the analyzer 130. In theabove-described example in which the designated user registers receiptsissued as a result of a subject user going out, in accordance with theschedules of the individual subject users, the priority order setter 140sets the priority order of tasks, that is, tasks of registeringreceipts, to be executed as a result of individual subject users goingout of the office.

To set the priority order, various rules are specifically set inaccordance with the type and the content of a task and those of theevent which triggers the task. In one example, the following rule may beset. As the period from the current time until when the next triggerevent occurs for a subject user is longer, a higher priority is given toa task of this subject user. In the above-described example in which thedesignated user registers receipts issued as a result of a subject usergoing out, based on the schedules of individual subject users, a higherpriority is given to a task of a subject user who has no plan to go outfor a longer period. The reason for this is as follows. If the periodfrom the current time until when the next trigger event occurs for acertain subject user is short, the work efficiency may be improved ifthe task of this subject user is executed later. This will be discussedmore specifically below.

If the period from the current time until when the next trigger eventoccurs for a certain subject user is short, after the next trigger eventoccurs during this short period of time, the need to execute anothertask for this subject user arises. Hence, the priority of the currenttask of this subject user is lowered, and if the next trigger eventoccurs before executing the current task, the designated user canexecute multiple tasks together including the one which needs to beexecuted by this event. The work efficiency is thus improved. Incontrast, if the period from the current time until when the nexttrigger event occurs for a certain subject user is long, no more task isgenerated for this subject user for a long period before the occurrenceof the next trigger event. That is, the need to execute another task forthis subject user does not arise for a while. The designated user canthus execute the current task for this subject user.

In another example concerning the setting of the priority order, thefollowing rule may be set. In a case in which the period from thecurrent time until when the next trigger event occurs for a firstsubject user is longer than a predetermined period and theabove-described period for the second subject user is shorter than thepredetermined period, a task of the first subject user is prioritizedover that of the second subject user. In the above-described example inwhich the designated user registers receipts issued as a result of asubject user going out, based on the schedules of individual subjectusers, a task of a subject user who has no plan to go out for a periodlonger than the predetermined period is prioritized over the tasks ofthe other subject users. The reason for this is as follows. If theperiod from the current time until when the next trigger event occursfor a certain subject user is shorter than the predetermined period, thework efficiency may be improved if the current task of this subject useris executed later. In particular, if such a task is executed after thelapse of the predetermined period, the work efficiency is even furtherenhanced.

If the period from the current time until when the next trigger eventoccurs for a certain subject user is shorter than the predeterminedperiod, after the next trigger event has occurred during thispredetermined period, the need to execute another task of this subjectuser arises. Hence, the priority of the current task of this subjectuser is lowered, and if the next trigger event occurs before executingthe current task, the designated user can execute multiple taskstogether including the task which needs to be executed by this event.The work efficiency is thus improved. In particular, if the execution ofthe current task is delayed until after the lapse of the predeterminedperiod, the next trigger event has positively occurred before theexecution time of the current task. The designated user can thus executemultiple tasks together after the occurrence of multiple trigger events.In contrast, if the period from the current time until when the nexttrigger event occurs for a certain subject user is longer than thepredetermined period, no more task is generated for this subject userduring this predetermined period. That is, the need to execute anothertask for this subject user during the predetermined period does notarise. The designated user can thus execute the current task for thissubject user.

If there are plural tasks of subject users for which the period from thecurrent time until when the next trigger event occurs is longer than thepredetermined period, or if there are plural tasks of subject users forwhich this period is shorter than the predetermined period, the priorityorder of such tasks is determined based on another rule. As discussedabove, for example, as the period from the current time until when thenext trigger event occurs for a subject user is longer, a higherpriority may be given to a task of this subject user.

As a modified example of the rule for setting the priority order oftasks, if a trigger event continues for a certain length of time, therule may be set based on the end time of the trigger event. In theabove-described example in which the designated user registers receiptsissued as a result of a subject user going out, the period of time forwhich each subject user is out of the office on a business trip or dueto being seconded to another company, for example, may be taken intoconsideration, and the priority order of tasks is determined based onthe time when each subject user plans to return to the office, that is,the time when receipts become available to be registered by thedesignated user.

This will be discussed through illustration of a specific example. It isassumed that one subject user plans to go out of the office in threedays according to a schedule A, while another subject user plans to goout of the office in five days according to a schedule B. In this case,according to the above-described rule based on the schedules of subjectusers, since the period from the current time until when the schedule Bis carried out is longer than that of the schedule A, the current taskfor the subject user related to the schedule B is prioritized over thatfor the subject user related to the schedule A. However, if the periodof time for the schedule A is one week, while that for the schedule B isonly one day (the same day), the subject user related to the schedule Breturns to the office earlier than that related to the schedule A. Thismeans that receipts concerning the schedule B are issued and becomeavailable to be registered by the designated user earlier than thoseconcerning the schedule A. Hence, the priority of the current task forthe subject user related to the schedule B is lowered, and the executionof this task is postponed. Because of this priority setting, if theschedule B is completed before the designated user executes the currenttask, the designated user can register receipts issued as a result ofcarrying out the schedule B, together with the past receipts. As aresult, the work efficiency is enhanced.

If, as discussed above, the rule for the priority order is set based onthe end time of a trigger event, it is necessary to obtain informationabout the end time of a trigger event from the schedule informationconcerning each subject user. To this end, it is necessary that scheduleinformation concerning each subject user managed by the user managementserver 200 include information about the continuation period and the endtime of a trigger event. In this modified example, a subject user goingout of the office is a trigger event and the rule for the priority orderis set based on the end time of this trigger event. If a subject userreturning to the office is set to be a trigger event, theabove-described rule may be regarded as the one based on the time of theoccurrence of the trigger event.

The display controller 150 is a function of generating a display screenshowing a list of subject users arranged in accordance with the priorityorder set by the priority order setter 140 and sending the displayscreen to the user terminal 300. Upon receiving the display screen, theuser terminal 300 displays the display screen on a display. Details ofthe display screen will be discussed later.

The notifier 160 is a function of sending a notification to a designateduser who undertakes a task for a certain subject user if a predeterminednotifying condition is satisfied for this task. The notification is aninstruction for the designated user to execute the task. The notifyingcondition is specifically set in accordance with the content of a taskor the type of trigger event. The notifying condition may be thecondition that a certain period has elapsed after the most recentoccurrence of a trigger event for a certain subject user.

The notifier 160 may notify a designated user that a prerequisite forexecuting a task has not been provided. In the above-described examplein which the designated user registers receipts issued as a result of asubject user going out, the submitting of receipts by the subject useris assumed to be a prerequisite for executing a task. If the subjectuser has not submitted receipts for a certain period after going out andreturning to the office, the notifier 160 may send this information tothe designated user who takes charge of this task.

The notifying condition may be the condition that the period from thecurrent time until when the next trigger event occurs for a subject userhas reached a certain period of time, such as the above-describedpredetermined period. In this case, the notifier 160 may notify thedesignated user that a trigger event will occur in a certain period oftime and the work efficiency will be improved if the user postponesexecuting the current task until then.

The notifier 160 may send a notification to a subject user if a specificcondition is satisfied. In the above-described example in which thedesignated user registers receipts issued as a result of a subject usergoing out, if the submitting of receipts by the subject user is assumedto be a prerequisite for executing a task, the notifier 160 may send aninstruction to submit receipts to the subject user.

(Functional Configuration of User Management Server)

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functionalconfiguration of the user management server 200. The user managementserver 200 manages subject user information and schedule informationconcerning each subject user. The user management server 200 includesfunctions such as a user information manager 210 and a scheduleinformation manager 220.

The user information manager 210 is a function of managing subject userinformation. Subject user information is information for identifying anindividual subject user. The content of subject user information to bemanaged by the user information manager 210 is not limited to aparticular type and may be determined in accordance with thespecifications and the operation of the task decision assist system 10.For example, as discussed in the explanation of the user informationobtainer 110 of the priority order decision server 100, identificationinformation about a subject user, the name or the account name of thesubject user, and the name or the code for identifying the job title ofthe subject user may be managed as subject user information.

The schedule information manager 220 is a function of managing scheduleinformation about the schedule of an individual subject user. Theschedule information managed by the schedule information manager 220 isinformation about the schedule of each subject user handled in the taskdecision assist system 10. For example, if a task of a subject user isrelated to a job of this subject user, the schedule of this job ismanaged by the schedule information manager 220. Specific examples ofthe scheduled items regarding a job are going out of the office,meetings, individual tasks related to the job. As stated above, scheduleinformation may include information other than that about a task. Thatis, schedule information may include information about an event otherthan a trigger event for a task. Each scheduled item is appended withinformation about the date, purpose, place, and party concerned, forexample.

(Hardware Configuration of Priority Order Decision Server and UserManagement Server)

Each of the priority order decision server 100 and the user managementserver 200 is implemented by a computer. FIG. 4 is a block diagramillustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a computerimplementing each of the priority order decision server 100 and the usermanagement server 200. The computer that implements each of the priorityorder decision server 100 and the user management server 200 includes acentral processing unit (CPU) 101, which is a processor, and storagessuch as a random access memory (RAM) 102, a read only memory (ROM) 103,and a storage device 104. The RAM 102 is a main storage (main memory)and is used as a work memory for the CPU 101 to execute processing. TheROM 103 stores programs and data, such as set values. The CPU 101 canread a program and data directly from the ROM 103 and executeprocessing. The storage device 104 is a storage for storing programs.The CPU 101 reads a program from the storage device 104 into the mainstorage and executes it. The results of processing executed by the CPU101 are also stored and retained in the storage device 104. As thestorage device 104, a magnetic disk drive or a solid state drive (SSD),for example, is used.

If the priority order decision server 100 is implemented by the computershown in FIG. 4, the user information obtainer 110, the scheduleinformation obtainer 120, the analyzer 130, the priority order setter140, the display controller 150, and the notifier 160 are implemented asa result of the CPU 101 executing a certain program, for example. Dataand information to be processed by the user information obtainer 110,the schedule information obtainer 120, the analyzer 130, the priorityorder setter 140, the display controller 150, and the notifier 160 andthe processing results and a display screen created by the displaycontroller 150 are stored in the storage device 104, for example.

If the user management server 200 is implemented by the computer shownin FIG. 4, the user information manager 210 and the schedule informationmanager 220 are implemented as a result of the CPU 101 executing acertain program, for example. A data file of subject user informationmanaged by the user information manager 210 and that of scheduleinformation managed by the schedule information manager 220 are storedin the storage device 104, for example.

(Configuration of User Terminal)

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configurationof the user terminal 300. The user terminal 300 includes a display 310,an input unit 320, and a controller 330. The user terminal 300 isimplemented by an information processing apparatus, such as a PC. Theconfiguration of the user terminal 300 is not limited to that shown inFIG. 5. For example, the user terminal 300 may also include a storagedevice for retaining various items of data to be processed andprocessing results and peripheral devices implementing various functionsunder the control of the controller 330. For example, an imageprocessing apparatus integrating a computer as the controller 330 andincluding an image reader and an image forming unit may be used as theuser terminal 300.

The display 310 is a device that displays screens, such as an operationscreen and an information presenting screen. The display 310 displays adisplay screen obtained from the priority order decision server 100. Asthe display 310, a liquid crystal display, for example, is used.

The input unit 320 is a device that receives an input operation from auser. The input unit 320 receives an operation performed by a user inaccordance with an operation screen, such as a user interface (UI)screen, displayed on the display 310. As the input unit 320, devices,such as a keyboard and a mouse, are used. A touchscreen, which serves asa UI, may be formed by using a touch senor as the input unit 320 and aliquid crystal display as the display 310.

The controller 330 is a device that controls the user terminal 300. Thecontroller 330 includes a CPU 331, a RAM 332, and a ROM 333. The RAM 332is a main storage and is used as a work memory for the CPU 331 toexecute processing. The ROM 333 stores programs and data, such as setvalues. The CPU 331 can read a program and data directly from the ROM333 and execute processing.

(Operation of Priority Order Decision Server)

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation executedby the priority order decision server 100. The operation shown in FIG. 6is executed when the priority order decision server 100 determines thepriority order of tasks in response to a request from the user terminal300.

A designated user operates the user terminal 300 and requests thepriority order decision server 100 to send a display screen showingsubject users. Such a request will be called a display request. Uponreceiving the display request from the user terminal 300 in step S601,the priority order decision server 100 accesses the user managementserver 200. In step S602, by using the user information obtainer 110 andthe schedule information obtainer 120, the priority order decisionserver 100 obtains subject user information and schedule informationconcerning all subject users whose tasks can be executed by thedesignated user.

Then, in step S603, by using the analyzer 130, the priority orderdecision server 100 extracts information about the time of theoccurrence of a trigger event for each subject user, based on theobtained subject user information and schedule information. Afterextracting the time of the occurrence of the trigger event for all thesubject users, in step S604, by using the priority order setter 140, thepriority order decision server 100 determines the priority order of thetasks in accordance with the extracted time of the occurrence of thetrigger event of each subject user. Then, in step S605, by using thedisplay controller 150, the priority order decision server 100 generatesa display screen reflecting the priority order determined in step S604.By using the notifier 160, the priority order decision server 100 judgesin step S606 whether the notifying condition is satisfied. If thenotifying condition is satisfied (YES in step S606), in step S607, thepriority order decision server 100 returns the generated display screenand a notification message to the user terminal 300 in response to thedisplay request. If the notifying condition is not satisfied (NO in stepS606), in step S608, the priority order decision server 100 returns onlythe generated display screen to the user terminal 300 in response to thedisplay request.

In the above-described example of the operation executed by the priorityorder decision server 100, when the priority order decision server 100has determined the priority order of tasks in response to the displayrequest from the user terminal 300, it judges whether the notifyingcondition is satisfied. Alternatively, the priority order decisionserver 100 may make this judgement independently of the decision of thepriority order and send a notification to the user terminal 300. Forexample, it is assumed that the notifying condition is the conditionthat a certain period has elapsed after the occurrence of a triggerevent. In this case, on a regular basis, the priority order decisionserver 100 obtains past schedule information from the user managementserver 200. If the priority order decision server 100 finds a task whichhas not yet been executed even after the lapse of the certain periodafter the occurrence of a corresponding trigger event, it sends aninstruction to execute the task to the user terminal 300 by using thenotifier 160.

(Example of Display Screen)

FIG. 7 illustrates a display example of the display screen displayed onthe user terminal 300. In the example in FIG. 7, the display screendisplayed on the display 310 has a subject user display field 311, aschedule information display field 312, and a subject period displayfield 313. In the example in FIG. 7, a subject user going out of theoffice (on a business trip) is a trigger event, and the display screenindicates a list of subject users and the schedules of their businesstrips.

In the subject user display field 311, the name (such as Mr. AAAA andMs. BBBB) and the job title (such as a department manager or a sectionmanager) of each subject user are indicated. These items of informationare extracted from the subject user information obtained from the usermanagement server 200. Each row of the subject user display field 311serves as a button object to be selected by a designated user. Thedesignated user selects the row of the subject user display field 311corresponding to the task to be executed next. If the display 310 is atouchscreen, the designated user can touch the corresponding row of thesubject user display field 311. When the designated user has selectedone of the subject users, the display screen of the display 310 isswitched to a task screen for executing the task of the selected subjectuser.

In the schedule information display field 312, the situation of eachsubject user, that is, whether the subject user is currently in or outand when the subject user is going out on a business trip, which servesas a trigger event, is displayed. In the example in FIG. 7, the starttime of a business trip is indicated as “out in XX days”. If a subjectuser is currently out of the office, the situation of this user isindicated as “out”. If a subject user has no plan to go on a businesstrip, the situation of this user is indicated as “in”.

The subject period display field 313 indicates the subject period ofscheduled business trips to be displayed in the list. In the example inFIG. 7, “for the next one week” is indicated in the subject perioddisplay field 313 to show that the schedules of business trips from thecurrent time to one week later are displayed. The subject period displayfield 313 serves as a button object. The designated user selects thesubject period display field 313, and then, a selection menu, forexample, is displayed, and the designated user can select an option ofthe subject period.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the subject users in the list arearranged in order of low to high priority. The list shows that “Mr. AAAA(department manager)” has no plan to go on a business trip for the nextone week. Mr. AAAA has the lowest priority and tops the list. The reasonwhy the subject user having no plan to go out tops the list is that thetiming of the execution of the current task of this subject user doesnot influence the work efficiency. “Ms. BBBB (section manager)” iscurrently out of the office. Ms. BBBB has the second lowest priority andis placed in the second position in the list. In this manner, as thenumber of days left before a subject user goes out of the office isgreater, a higher priority is set for this user. The subject users aredisplayed in the list in ascending order of the number of days left.

In the example in FIG. 7, the priority order of tasks is set based onthe start time of a business trip. When determining the priority order,the end time of a business trip may also be taken into consideration.For example, Ms. BBBB (section manager) is currently out of the office,and Mr. CCCC (director) goes on a business trip in three days. If,however, Ms. BBBB returns to the office in five days and Mr. CCCC is outof the office for only one day, Mr. CCCC returns to the office earlierthan Ms. BBBB. It is now assumed that the task conducted by thedesignated user is registering of receipts for the payment during abusiness trip in a database. In this case, receipts issued for thebusiness trip of Mr. CCCC become available earlier than those of Ms.BBBB and the designated user can start registering the receipts of Mr.CCCC earlier. In this manner, when setting the priority order of tasks,the end time of a business trip may also be taken into consideration,and the task for Ms. BBBB may be prioritized over that for Mr. CCCC. Inthis case, in the list shown in FIG. 7, Mr. CCCC (director) is placed ina higher position than Ms. BBBB (section manager).

FIG. 8 illustrates a display example when the subject period is selectedon the display screen shown in FIG. 7. On the display screen in FIG. 8,the subject user display field 311 and the schedule information displayfield 312 are the same as those of the display screen in FIG. 7. Asstated above, the subject period display field 313 serves as a buttonobject. In the example in FIG. 8, the subject period display field 313is operated, and a selection menu is displayed. More specifically, whenthe designated user selects the subject period display field 313 on thedisplay screen in FIG. 7 by clicking it with a mouse or touching it onthe touchscreen, a pull-down menu 313 a is displayed to indicate optionsof the subject period. When the designated user selects one of theoptions on the pull-down menu 313 a, subject users and their schedulesare displayed in the subject user display field 311 and in the scheduleinformation display field 312 in accordance with the selected option ofthe subject period.

While the exemplary embodiment has been discussed above, the technicalscope of the disclosure is not restricted thereto.

For example, in the above-described exemplary embodiment, subject userinformation is stored in the user management server 200. However, thesubject users are users receiving a service from the external serviceprovider 400 and may be managed by the external service provider 400. Inthis case, the user information obtainer 110 of the priority orderdecision server 100 obtains subject user information concerning thesubject users from the external service provider 400 instead of from theuser management server 200.

The above-described exemplary embodiment has been discussed such thatschedule information managed by the schedule information manager 220 ofthe user management server 200 may include information other than thatrelated to a task, such as information concerning a trigger event. Theschedule information may include information about a task itself to beconducted by a designated user. In this case, the execution time of thetask is indicated in the schedule information concerning a subject user.When the execution time has arrived, the notifier 160 of the priorityorder decision server 100 may send an instruction to execute the task tothe designated user, based on the schedule information obtained from theuser management server 200.

Various other modifications and alternatives for the configuration ofthe exemplary embodiment may be made without departing from thetechnical scope of the disclosure and they are encompassed in thedisclosure.

In the embodiment above, the term “processor” refers to hardware in abroad sense. Examples of the processor include general processors (e.g.,CPU: Central Processing Unit) and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU:Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Integrated Circuit, FPGA:Field Programmable Gate Array, and programmable logic device).

In the embodiment above, the term “processor” is broad enough toencompass one processor or plural processors in collaboration which arelocated physically apart from each other but may work cooperatively. Theorder of operations of the processor is not limited to one described inthe embodiment above, and may be changed.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thedisclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modificationsand variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and its practical applications, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the disclosure forvarious embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of thedisclosure be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

1. An information processing apparatus comprising: a processorconfigured to: obtain schedule information of a plurality of users,identify, from the obtained schedule information of the plurality ofusers, expected occurrences of a trigger event that will cause aparticular task that needs to be executed by a designated user, and seta priority order among the plurality of users based on time informationof the expected occurrences of the trigger event, wherein a firstpriority order of a first expected occurrence of the trigger event thatoccurs later is higher than a second priority order of a second expectedoccurrence of the trigger event that occur earlier.
 2. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor isconfigured to: cause a display to display a screen showing the pluralityof users arranged in accordance with the set priority order.
 3. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein theplurality of users include a first user and a second user, wherein theschedule information includes a first expected occurrence of the triggerevent to the first user and a second expected occurrence of the triggerevent to the second user, and wherein the processor is configured to:set the priority order so that the first user is given a higher prioritythan the second user in a case where a time of the first expectedoccurrence of the trigger event is farther than a time of the secondexpected occurrence of the trigger event is from a predetermined timepoint.
 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3,wherein the predetermined time point is a current time.
 5. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein theplurality of users include a first user and a second user, wherein theschedule information includes a first expected occurrence of the triggerevent to the first user and a second expected occurrence of the triggerevent to the second user, and wherein the processor is configured to:set the priority order so that the first user is given a higher prioritythan the second user in a case where a first distance from the firstexpected occurrence of the trigger event to a predetermined time pointis longer than a predetermined period and a second distance from thesecond expected occurrence of the trigger event to the predeterminedtime point is shorter than the predetermined period.
 6. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the predeterminedtime point is a current time.
 7. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: send anyuser of the plurality of users a notification in response to the usersatisfying a predetermined notifying condition.
 8. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the notifyingcondition is an elapse of a certain period of time after a lastoccurrence of the trigger event to the user.
 9. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trigger event isa trip, and wherein the task is related to expenses of the trip.
 10. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thedesignated user is a person set as a manager of the plurality of users.11. An information processing apparatus comprising: a processorconfigured to: obtain schedule information of a plurality of users,identify, from the obtained schedule information of the plurality ofusers, a schedule of each of the plurality of users being out,particular tasks of the plurality of users being executed by adesignated user in response to the corresponding users being out, andset a priority order among the plurality of users based on timeinformation of the schedule of each of the plurality of users being out,wherein a first priority order of a first expected occurrence of thetrigger event that occurs later is higher than a second priority orderof a second expected occurrence of the trigger event that occur earlier.12. An information processing method comprising: obtaining scheduleinformation of a plurality of users; identifying, from the obtainedschedule information of the plurality of users, expected occurrences ofa trigger event that will cause a particular task that needs to beexecuted by a designated user; and setting a priority order among theplurality of users based on time information of the expected occurrencesof the trigger event, wherein a first priority order of a first expectedoccurrence of the trigger event that occurs later is higher than asecond priority order of a second expected occurrence of the triggerevent that occur earlier.